This is Coltrane at his most experimental and avantgarde. Taking jazz into the realms of absolute freedom, both editions are masterpieces on improvisation, with every instrument contributing to the greater work. A record as inlfuential as A Love Supreme and anything by Ornette Coleman and Sun Ra, this is a must have.

Perhaps Coltrane's most avant-garde, despite its reputation for being "inaccessible," still delivers an amazing experience of sound. Filled with Coltrane's loud squeaks of his saxophone, constant, minimalistic drumming, and other horns, almost all completely separately and independently, oblivious to Coltrane, playing behind him. Both versions of Ascension, each about 40 minutes long, amazingly similar and yet also different. If you listen closely, there are a few recognizable, repeated themes or patterns, but not enough (thankfully) to give it definite form or make it close to predictable. It's not something necessarily you'd jog to (though nobody's stopping you), but it nevertheless is a true work of genius.